Friday, 13 June 2014

Brazil vs. Croatia: Final score 3-1 in 2014 World Cup Opener

If opening games are anything to go by, then we could be in for a cracker of a World Cup. The hosts went behind after seven minutes when Marcelo turned a cross into his own net - a goal which was met with stunned silence by the crowd before Neymar answered with a first-half equalizer, and a dive in the box from striker Fred led to the go-ahead goal in the second half on a Neymar penalty kick.Oscar then added some security in extra time, and Brazil is back on track at the head of Group A.It could have been worse for Brazil when Neymar clashed with Croatia midfielder Luka Modric, but referee Yuichi Nishimura only produced a yellow card.In the end, it was a narrow victory for Brazil, but one they'll hope to build on if they can shrug off some of the immense pressure they're under. It was significant before, and despite the win, it may now get worse given the manner of their victory.